Hawaii Land Set for Preservation

Nov. 18, 2012 7:27 p.m. ET

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One of the biggest tracts of undeveloped land in Hawaii's Oahu island is being sold to the state for preservation as farmland. Here, Lea Hong, Hawaii director for the Trust for Public Land, looked out at part of the estate. The nonprofit Trust for Public Land is brokering the deal.
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The 1750-acre estate dates back to George Galbraith, a cattle rancher from Ireland who left his country in the mid-1800s to follow the California Gold Rush, but stopped first in Hawaii and never left, according to historical accounts. The estate is now shared by more than 600 heirs.
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Stickers adorned a for-sale sign advertising land from the Galbraith Estate in September. The property straddles a fertile plain about 20 miles from downtown Honolulu, and developers had for years sought to buy it to further extend the capital's suburbs.
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Ms. Hong, of the Trust for Public Land, left, stood with Peter Yuh, conservation branch chief for the U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii. The U.S. Army approved the plan for farmland, as the land would be a buffer between development and its nearby Schofield Barracks.
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Tourists wandered around the Kukaniloko Birthing Stones, one of Oahu's most important Hawaiian cultural sites. The stones are on land almost completely surrounded by the Galbraith property and accessible on a public trail.
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Former agriculture buildings and structures located on neighboring land in Whitmore Village may be restored under a similar conservation deal. Moves to preserve farmland near Hawaii's cities are rare, given the land's development value.
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Many of the old farm buildings in Whitmore Village may be restored and used by the new agriculture projects.
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Shown, a view of the Galbraith Estate.
Marco Garcia for The Wall Street Journal…